As They Always Were
by Josephine Stone
Summary: Harry needed help and Hermione believed it would help him, so she kept quiet about it even though it felt wrong. Written for hp silencio, and therefore has no dialogue. Harry/Draco from Hermione's POV.


**Beta:** drarryisgreen  
**Fest:** hp_silencio  
**Pairings: Harry/Draco**  
**Warnings:** Ginny plays the role of the villain; I tried to make her believable and I don't see it as bashing, but others might disagree.  
**Prompt:** Hermione is pretty sure her best friend has a secret that he's not sharing with anyone. How does she feel about what she suspects is the beginnings of a relationship between him and Malfoy by birdsofshore.

* * *

Hermione believed Harry would die.

She accepted it long before she even realised she needed to, that the three of them—Harry, Ron, and her—would die, as they always were: together. But—they lived. And that changed _everything_.

Allowing Ginny a bit of happiness—even if it took a dose of magic to attain it—before Harry died was one thing. Letting it continue after the fact—quite another.

Harry was depressed, angry, becoming more violent and far too obsessed with Malfoy. Something needed to be done to take his mind off of it, so Hermione pretended she didn't know that Ginny dropped small doses of a love potion in Harry's drinks throughout the summer, and then the school year.

Ginny wasn't like the other girls—who knew nothing about him or wanted him for his fame; she loved him and wanted to help him. She never made a move on Harry, but waited for Harry to come to her. That helped Hermione accept Ginny's decision, and let him have his bit of happiness before he was due to die. She was convinced that death—for the three of them—was inevitable. It seemed like he was in love, even if she knew it wasn't real. Not really.

They all lived at the Burrow the summer after the defeat of Voldemort. Some trials came upon them quickly—like Draco Malfoy's—others weren't scheduled to take place for a few years—such as Lucius Malfoy's. Harry sat next to Ginny at the kitchen table and glared at the newspaper in silence. They'd fought _again_ that morning about Malfoy's trial. Harry wanted to attend Malfoy's trial whether Ginny approved or not. She did not approve and refused to speak to him. Her silence_ hurt_ Harry, but he was as stubborn as ever. He _would_ go to defend Malfoy as Harry had promised Mrs Malfoy. Hermione loved that about Harry; that he fought for what he believed in.

The first time they fought about it, Harry was the angriest she'd seen him since Sirius' death. He held a drink in his hand, and finished it after he let himself yell at Ginny for the first time ever in their relationship. Then he backed down. Instantly.

Hermione could no longer pretend she was all right with seeing Ginny pour larger doses of the potion in Harry's drinks. She realised then, she'd never known quite what it was, as she—for the third day in a row—vanished the contents of Harry's cup and replaced it with a fresh brew while Harry and Ginny were busy fighting. Ginny—like everyone else—hated fighting with Harry. On most things she sided with Harry, but Draco Malfoy's trial was different. She seemed to prefer Harry's obsessed hatred of him that he had in their sixth year, and couldn't understand his change of heart.

Hermione had kept quiet hoping Ginny would get Harry's mind off Malfoy back then, and it worked. Harry had still believed that Malfoy was a Death Eater on a mission to kill someone, but he was distracted enough to not follow him around anymore. He wasn't as angry either. It was obvious to Hermione the morning of Malfoy's trial that stopping Harry from killing Malfoy had never been Ginny's goal. Perhaps she was wrong about Harry's motivations as well. Maybe he stopped following Malfoy around, _because_ he almost killed him. He might have kissed Ginny and then dated her to distract himself from thinking about the Malfoy incident. His guilt could have been what washed away his anger.

It was too late for Hermione to tell Harry about the potion. How could she explain that she knew the whole time and let it happen? Harry stood and left without saying goodbye to either of them. Ginny threw his half-empty glass against the door, the moment he closed it. Hermione cleaned up the mess after Ginny ran upstairs crying. Hermione was too afraid that Ginny would see right through her if she went upstairs to comfort her.

No one seemed happy about Harry defending Malfoy at his trial; Hermione still wasn't sure how she felt about it.

Draco Malfoy was set free in a way—depending on how people looked at it. He was "sentenced" to three years living in the Muggle world without a wand. Hermione was furious with this decision, because they treated the Muggle world—her world—as a punishment. And for Malfoy—who had no idea how to live in the Muggle world having never stepped foot in it—it was. The likelihood of him dying there was as real as the chances of him failing to kill Dumbledore in his sixth year. It was a punishment treated like a chance. If looks could kill, Harry would have murdered them all that day.

Instead, a few days later, Harry was setting up a flat for Malfoy and him to live in for the next few years. Harry offered to live with Malfoy. Harry would take care of Malfoy, teach him how to live in the Muggle world, and keep him from getting killed. That's how he'd explained it to Hermione.

Harry never invited Ginny, not even to visit. Ron _refused_ to visit, and Hermione avoided it until her curiosity got the best of her. Harry had almost killed Malfoy once. The friendship she walked into was not something she expected. Malfoy moved around the Muggle kitchen with ease and was even able to cook a few simple things. Harry had instructed and taught Malfoy something in front of her without either of them getting frustrated with each other nor sensing how odd it was. It was odd for Hermione.

Harry touched Malfoy, and Malfoy never pulled away. Harry touched Malfoy a lot; he found excuses for it. He'd guide Malfoy's hand instead of pointing to something; he'd touch him to get his attention instead of saying his name; he'd let their arms and legs brush each other instead of struggling for space. She watched them dance around each other and felt out of place like a stranger. She had never met these two boys. They treated her as though she were a stranger: formal and uncertain of her.

They wore articles of each other's clothing: Harry in Malfoy's button-up shirt and Malfoy in Harry's trousers. She tried to catch Harry's eyes, but he avoided looking at her. Once they met, he blushed and looked away. He was obvious and he knew it. She couldn't stop herself from smiling at it: Harry acting like a teenager.

After they ate, Malfoy left to read in _their_ room. There was no use pretending; it was a one bedroom flat. Harry didn't invite her to see it and that was when Hermione _knew_ Harry wasn't hoping that he and Malfoy would become more, but that they already were. She never knew; it was never a thought. It was such a surprise and then not a surprise at the same time, because everything fell into place. There wasn't a matter of her accepting it, because—much like their deaths—she had already accepted, before she knew she needed to, before she stepped through the door, before she even decided to visit.

She sat with Harry in an awkward silence, until it was obvious she wasn't leaving. Harry slept with Malfoy since their first night in the flat; their first kiss had been on the day of the trial.

He loved him.

Harry was always in love with him. The guilt hit her harder in that moment than it had ever hit her before. She had been _wrong_, and it could have ruined Harry's life.

She couldn't ask Ginny what she intended with the potion, or it would have indicated to Ginny that she knew, that she let it happen, and that she was the reason it stopped working.

It was better to let Ginny believe that even under the influence of the potion, Harry fell in love with Malfoy instead of her. It would make it easier for her to accept them—Harry and Draco—if she believed it. If even magic couldn't make Harry love her and stop thinking about Draco, then she would _know_ it was useless and that she _had_ to move on. To find someone perfect for _her_.

Everyone else would come around, once they got used to the idea. After they saw what Hermione saw then, and outgrew their own prejudices. Love would win out; it always did.

Hermione never told Harry what Ginny had done and what Hermione had not done _for him_, and she never discovered what the potion was. She did, however, watch his drinks for him.


End file.
